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The consequences of a sedentary lifestyle are difficult to investigate in human studies. For this reason, an international research team involving the University of Hamburg has now investigated them in king penguins. The result: an abundant food supply in protected living conditions promotes rapid growth, but ultimately leads to accelerated ageing.

More and more virtual and digital systems look human. However, this is sometimes perceived as scary and thus rejected. A research team led by Esther Diekhof Frank Steinicke from the University of Hamburg has now discovered that a deviant appearance even activates our immune system. The findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports .

An international research team led by the University of Hamburg has documented desertification in sub-Saharan Africa on an unprecedented scale. This threatens the South African Richtersveld, a globally important hotspot of biodiversity with many plants that only occur there. The images from South Africa are reminiscent of the devastation during the famous "Dust Bowl" in the Midwest of the USA, which was one of the causes of the Great Depression in the 1930s: Formerly valuable pastureland is buried under sand, abandoned farmhouses buried by dunes.

Researchers at the University of Hamburg and DESY have found evidence of the elusive toponium. With this discovery, the fundamental structure of matter could be deciphered in even greater detail. Researchers at the University of Hamburg and DESY, working together in the University of Hamburg's Cluster of Excellence Quantum Universe, have found signals in two experiments at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) that point to an extremely rare particle called toponium-a bound state consisting of a top quark and its antiparticle.

Sleep increases the ability to solve problems creatively. This was shown in a study involving 90 test subjects at the University of Hamburg. Based on the brain activity measured during sleep, it is even possible to predict the probability of an "aha moment" occurring after a nap. This result has now been published in the journal "PLoS Biology".

Eminem, Jay-Z, LL Cool J, or Nas-it is often the star rappers who claim sovereignty over the sound of a track through their voice and lyrics. The subject literature reveals contradictory views about who really determines the sound of a music production. In a study published in the Journal of the Audio Engineering Society, a team of musicologists led by Tim Ziemer from the University of Hamburg has now been able to prove that it is clearly the producers.

People watching videos of sneezing or sick people show increased activity at the junction of brain regions and the immune system that react to potential dangers. At the same time, the concentration of antibodies in their saliva increases. Findings from a study conducted by researchers in the University of Hamburg's Department of Biology indicate that a significant part of the immune system responds even before a pathogen enters the body.

So-called foraminifera are found in all the world's oceans. Now, an international study led by the University of Hamburg has shown that foraminifera are found in all the world's oceans: The mostly shell-bearing microorganisms absorb phosphate from the water to an unprecedented extent, which pollutes the oceans.

Particulate matter and microplastics are much-discussed risks to the environment and health. A new study by the Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability at the University of Hamburg and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon has now investigated the role of tire and brake wear in the formation of urban particulate matter for the first time.

Recently, there have been major breakthroughs in X-ray fluorescence imaging for biomedical applications. In cooperation with Audi Hungaria, Hungary, a University of Hamburg team will expand the innovative method to include questions in nondestructive materials testing-another example of research-driven technology exchange.

Migration can have different causes such as military conflicts or poverty. However, there is hardly any research to date on whether international sanctions influence the decision to leave one's homeland or not. Researchers at the University of Hamburg and Trier University have now published the first statistical analysis on sanction-driven emigration in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization.

We humans benefit from the oceans' tremendous capacity to absorb greenhouse gases. Due to the low temperature of the water, the Arctic Ocean absorbs an especially large amount of CO2 in relation to its size. Due in part to climate change, this effect will be less pronounced in the future. A new study released by Universität Hamburg's Cluster of Excellence CLICCS shows how much CO2 is released into the atmosphere in the Arctic Ocean by the erosion of coastal permafrost.

The EU Emissions Trading System is not only good for reducing CO2 and for the climate. It also results in considerable health benefits due to reduced air pollution and saves hundreds of billions of euros, according to a recently released study by a team at Universität Hamburg. The research team from the Cluster of Excellence Climate, Climatic Change, and Society (CLICCS) at Universität Hamburg analyzed the indirect effects of the European Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) on hazardous air pollutants such as sulfur oxide, particulate matter, and nitrogen oxides.

Santorini is one of the best-studied volcanic archipelagos in the world. An international drilling expedition has now for the first time used a scientific drill ship to explore and investigate the seafloor around the Greek volcanic island. The researchers have uncovered evidence of an underwater eruption in 726 CE, previously known only from historical records.

Coastal seas form a complex transition zone between the two largest CO2 sinks in the global carbon cycle: land and ocean. Ocean researchers have now succeeded for the first time in investigating the role of the coastal ocean in a seamless model representation. The team led by Dr. Moritz Mathis from the Cluster of Excellence for Climate Research CLICCS at Universität Hamburg and the Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon was able to show: The intensity of CO2 uptake is higher in coastal seas than in the open ocean.

Researchers in the Cluster of Excellence Understanding Written Artefacts at Universität Hamburg and the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY) have developed the world's only transportable computer tomography device. Using this device, we can now read 4,000 year old cuneiform texts from Mesopotamia for the first time.

Test subjects who That is the finding of a 45-person study by researchers in the Department of Biology at Universität Hamburg in cooperation with the University of Tübingen. The study was published in the journal Scientific Reports. Secretory immunoglobulin A (slgA) in our saliva is the most important antibody for fighting respiratory pathogens.

In Germany, 14,000 blood donations are needed every day for operations, accident victims or immunocompromised patients. But how can people be motivated to donate blood? A new study shows how blood donation services can inform donors by text message about the use of their donation - with a positive effect.

A research team led by the Department of Biology at Éniversität Hamburg has discovered, for the first time, the predatory amphipod Rhachotropis abyssalis in 3 different oceans up to 20,000 kilometers apart. In each case, the animals live at depths of more than 3 kilometers. The findings were published in the journal Scientific Reports .

Viewed globally, it is above all individuals and households that are pursuing adaptation to the impacts of climate change; systematic networking of the various groups affected is lacking. This is the conclusion reached by an international team of experts from Universität Hamburg's Cluster of Excellence for climate research (CLICCS) and Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU).